The Great Commission
Shortly before He ascended into heaven, Jesus commanded his apostles:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
—Mathew 28:19-20
Think of ways that you can fulfill this. Each of us in our daily life should try to keep this in mind; and it’s comforting to know that we are not alone.

It seems that we tend to make evangelism much more complicated than we have to. More often than not, people will tend to say something like, “I don’t know anyone who isn’t already a Christian.” And while that may well be true, reality often betrays the label. Asking folk if they have a “church home” will invariably prompt them to say yes. End of conversation. The more pointed question we might want to ask is, “Do you go to church?” More often than not in today’s culture, folks will probably say no, thus opening the door for us to invite those folks to “come and see.” It’s a “yes/no proposition” that has nothing to do with any of us personally; rather, inviting another person to join you at St. James has everything to do with sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, him crucified and raised from the dead, until the day of his coming. Evangelism isn’t rude or invasive. It’s not rocket science or brain surgery. Sharing Christ, quite simply put, is a gift offered without our taking ownership of what the recipient of our gift does with it. Give the Gift.

Wednesday, January 18th, began the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with the observance of the Confession of Peter. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that short of the End Time and considerable relaxation of the “turf-wars” inherent amongst most denominations, Christian Unity will remain an oxymoron. Our annual observance of the Confession of Peter has far less to do with Christian unity than it does with the apostle’s proclamation of Jesus as the Christ of God – the Good News. In the grander scheme of things, we all would do well to learn from Peter’s overt, yet quite simple confession when it comes to encouraging the sharing of Christ with others.

Andrew and Peter, Philip and Nathaniel show up in Holy Scripture. In the Gospel according to John, these four share a common experience. Andrew found Jesus and got to know him. Then he went to his brother, Peter, encouraging him to share Christ too. Philip found Jesus and got to know him but, then, it was Philip who encouraged Nathaniel to share Christ. As you are well aware, Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel all came to know Jesus. Knowing Jesus, that is to say personally and intimately, empowered the disciples to share Christ. Just so, our own personal relationship with the living Christ precedes our ability to share Christ meaningfully with another. By the same token, to find ourselves incapable of sharing Christ suggests that we may not quite possess the kind of relationship with Jesus that we think we do. Start to finish, it is all about an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. Do you know Jesus or just know about him? The former will encourage others. The latter will bore them to tears!

One of the joys of being part of St. James is getting to read the thoughts of those who express themselves each week via the Stewardship and Evangelism messages that show up in the online and printed announcements. If nothing else, these efforts give us all opportunities to think about our care and feeding of the gifts with which God blesses us, as well as, our willingness to proclaim Jesus as Lord. As regards the latter, I know how very difficult a time most all of us have sharing the faith within us. Interestingly enough, that difficulty gets fed by the erroneous notion that our relationship with Jesus is a very private matter. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. In the grander scheme of things, aren’t we fortunate that those who came before us were under no such allusion? If you simply cannot bring yourself to tell the Story of God’s saving grace through the Lord Jesus and your experience of it at St. James, let me suggest that you at least be willing to mention the web site (www.saintjamesonline.org) to family and friends alike. Our web site speaks volumes, in print and visually, about almost every facet of the life and times of St. James Episcopal Church and School – no door knocking or Bible thumping required. Perhaps they will like what they see and will want to come and see…

St. James is such a wonderful, giving parish home; a true exemplification of stewardship. We help our own but also our community -- food drives, benefits for the youth’s mission trip, we pray for those who are not in our own home, we serve as a meeting place for Alcoholics Anonymous, tutor reading to children from a neighborhood elementary school, support less fortunate families at holiday time, the homeless when it’s frightful weather and the list goes on and on and on.

Do you ever notice that no matter how little you may think you have, there is always someone less fortunate? Typically we don’t think twice about providing towels for a shelter resident or a coat no longer worn going to someone homeless when it’s frigid but have you considered St. James on your list of the needy? Hopefully you have and your stewardship to your home community is at the top of your list when donating. During a food drive for instance, you amply select overstock of staples in your pantry but do you also consider digging a bit deeper occasionally to make a donation here at home? Know that good stewardship doesn’t lie in stashing and saving, but in giving.

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:19

We ask that you remember that good stewardship doesn’t lie in stashing and saving, but in giving.

We all want to plan for our future, whether that means retirement, a new home or a well-deserved vacation. Our approach should be no different when it comes to stewardship. The gifts of time and money we give now help to build up St. James for future generations. We can't assume that St. James will continue to exist and that that is enough. In order for our church to thrive, we are obligated to act now to make our hopes a reality. Please consider the importance of giving and the impact it will make, not only today, but in the future.

Are you among those who want to pledge, but have no idea where to begin? Consider what it takes to maintain your household, such as electricity, water and maintenance. Now think of the size of our church household, hosting more than 100 members and guests each week. Maybe the way to begin is with these essentials, matching the average amount of your electricity and water bills in a monthly pledge so that St. James can better afford its own utilities. The point is that we should think of our church, not only as a spiritual gathering place, but also as a brick and mortar building with real world expenses. No matter what your income, there is a place to begin and your effort will make a difference in our church.

Happy New Year! It’s a yearly reminder to us that we can take a pause, assess ourselves and our situation, and make changes if so desired. Now we’re a couple weeks in and it feels like nothing changed. If that’s happened to you, it’s not too late. Whenever you do reflect and then look forward to the New Year, I hope you consider your support of the Church as a benchmark to improve upon. When’s the last time you made an improvement?

Many of us were lucky enough to be raised in a church-going family. Some were Episcopalian families, and some were even lucky enough to be St. James families. Even when that is the case, many of us were not taught as children what it means to really be a member of a church, we were only taught to go to church and behave. It is really much more than that, essentially a pooling of resources, treasure and talent, to benefit the group and beyond. I did not know, or I had long forgotten, the Biblical Tithe is 10%. It sets the minimum standard for giving to the Church. It is something that some of us strive to attain, sometimes for a lifetime. For many others, it is something to cast away as impossible, unreachable, and therefore an “ignorable” gold standard that can’t possibly be met. Regardless of your ability to meet the Tithe, you should know, and need to know- what it is, and that you should be working towards meeting it. Otherwise, you are just going to church, and behaving.